A recent statement by Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, saying the only reason Buhari is still president, is because he is not a southerner, has generated reactions and condemnation by both the Presidency and Muslims in the North.
Kukah, in his Christmas message on Friday, said there could have been a coup if a non-northern Muslim president does a fraction of what Buhari is doing to the country.
He accused the president of institutionalising northern hegemony by “reducing others in public life to second-class status”.
“This government owes the nation an explanation as to where it is headed as we seem to journey into darkness,” he said.
“The spilling of this blood must be related to a more sinister plot that is beyond our comprehension. Are we going to remain hogtied by these evil men or are they gradually becoming part of a larger plot to seal the fate of our country?
“President Buhari deliberately sacrificed the dreams of those who voted for him to what seemed like a programme to stratify and institutionalise northern hegemony. He has pursued this self-defeating and alienating policy at the expense of greater national cohesion.
“Every honest Nigerian knows that there is no way any non-Northern Muslim President could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and gotten away with it.
“There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war. The President may have concluded that Christians will do nothing and will live with these actions.
“He may be right and we Christians cannot feel sorry that we have no pool of violence to draw from or threaten our country. However, God does not sleep. We can see from the inexplicable dilemma of his North.”
In a quick reaction to the bishop's statement, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, warned Kukah against stigmatising the president, and also warned religious leaders in the country to “refrain from stoking the embers of hatred and disunity” which could “ trigger unintended consequences ”.
But Tukur Danmuazu, in a reaction, describes Kukah's claims of Christian suppression in the North as lies, saying the bishop is as bad as the Buhari he calls incompetent.
In an opinion piece he tags "THE KUKAH OF LIES", the Zaria based Muslim, said, "Mathew Kukah is disgracing Northerners in the same manner as Buhari. They are both incompetents at what they like best.
Buhari loves power, but he incompetently misuses it. Mathew Kukah loves mendacity, but he cooks it too raw and too full of sand that the food repels the thought.
"I remember, while mushrooms of churches are sprouting everywhere in the North and the few mosques that are available in South East were being demolished, Kukah cried out that there were no churches in the North because Muslims do not allow the building of churches in the North. Such blatant lies so unashamedly cooked up.
"This Hausa pastor is giving Hausa people a bad name. We, the Hausa people, besides our politicians, are not liars, but Kukah is doing his best to disgrace us. Kukah has no respect for Northern Muslims. He lies against them and at the same time demands that they should respect him.
"Kukah cooks up lies for two reasons only. To blackmail Muslims and to please Southern Christians. His motive is to remain popular mindless of the distrust and conflict he generates with his falsehood."
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